New thriller explores possible apocalypse

MADISON, WISM. J. Rusch writes of his new novel, Dome, In the 23rd century, a non-nuclear apocalypse has finally come to exist… the Earths vastly depleted ozone layer finally succumbed. And when it did, the Earth stood naked awaiting the final effect of the suns onslaught of deadly rays. Earth had finally reached what many believed to be its Armageddon, and its people lived in wait for the day its death would finally come. The world became divided, and a new governmental Cold War came to exist. Superpower countries and alliances of nations worked separately to devise a means by which man could still live and thrive on the now-changed world. Giant Domes were developed and constructed to shelter small areas of lands. Superpower countries were careful to conceal and protect their own discovered technological secrets. Each looked to the other for failure, hoping as a nation the other would perish from the Earth… Plan Zero was to be a fiery demolition… It was a plan to repopulate the nation to again make it healthy and strong… But in the year 2306, a situation presented itself, and United States President Franklin F. Ford was forced to put it into use. The years of the Great Dome War had finally begun.

M. J. Rusch explains, Dome is my first serious attempt to tell a good, emotionally involved, high-energy story. One that immediately hooks the reader into another world and doesnt allow release until its very end. Dome is a nightmare I had one evening. It was one of those nightmares where you wake up in the middle of the night with your body and sheets drenched in sweat… I dwelt on this dream for an entire day. I thought about the people I had encountered and the extreme emotions they felt… Almost exactly one year later, I had the same dream, with the same amount of vividness and intensity. In the short time I was asleep, both times, I followed these characters. I felt their pain, fear and loss. I felt their adrenaline and emotion to the point my heart felt as if it would burst from my chest. It was then, after I experienced this all for the second time, that I felt compelled to write it down.

We are pleased to offer M. J. Ruschs book through the 1stBooks Library, says President Tim Jacobs. It has some fresh, insightful things to say, and we believe its well worth the readers attention.

Orders may be placed with 1stBooks Library, 2511 W. Third St., Bloomington, IN 47404, phone (812) 339-6000; fax (812) 339-6554. Dome is now available as a paperback from 1stBooks.com and from bookstores nationwide. The electronic version is available from 1stBooks.com for immediate download.